Cory Graves
Deep Ellum Gets Another Music Fest (Maybe), Oak Cliff Gets A New Record Shop and KDGE Turns 25.
More so than perhaps even being known as a safe haven for the cocaine-and-boob-jobs set, $30,000 millionaires and JR Ewing clones, Dallas is becoming known for its overwhelming glut of festivals.
It's also got a reputation as a place willing to crowd-fund projects of just about any type. To wit: North Texas-based organizations have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to open barbecue joints, record albums, film documentaries and launch craft breweries.
So maybe the marriage of crowd-funding and festivals has been a long time coming.
Which brings us to Artist Collective founder Charlsie Grace's plans to raise $50,000 via online crowd-funding platform Indiegogo to lure a certain big-name, '80s New Wave outfit to headline her planned three-day music and arts festival in Deep Ellum next April. Per the would-be Deep Ellum Block Party's page, which was launched earlier today, Grace and her partners intend to host over 300 bands on more than 20 stages in Deep Ellum, in addition to the 700 other visual artists, filmmakers, brewers, actors, dancers, comedians, authors and food vendors, who are all set to participate in the fest's inaugural year — should it, in fact, happen.
Some perspective: By comparison's sake, this event would more than double the number bands and stages that the Index Fest folks have planned for their own third such affair, which is set to go down September 26, 27 and 28.
Since we're talking September-held festivals: More acts have been announced for this year's seventh annual Dia de los Toadies festival. Among them are pint-sized Austin rockers Residual Kid, Fort Worth miscreants The Longshots and synth-pop outfit Blank-Men. Also, joining the Toadies during its traditionally intimate opening night offering will be Rhett Miller, who'll open things up with a solom acoustic set.
Speaking of Miller, a live video of the Old 97's frontman performing that duet with Madison King we mentioned last week has since been uploaded to YouTube. Check it out:
Then there's Watauga resident Will Roth, who has survived another week as a contestant on ABC's latest televised singing competition, Rising Star. The North Texan — whose bio on the show's website cites Dave Matthews Band as his biggest musical influence — earned his stay with a performance of The Neighbourhood's “Sweater Weather.” Check that out below:
That song, we might add, is currently in heavy rotation on KDGE-FM “The Edge,” a station which celebrates its 25th anniversary this weekend. In turn, George Gimarc and a whole slew of folks who've been instrumental making the station a long-running success will hold a reunion, of sorts, this Saturday at Good Records.
Moving on: Daniel Markham released a lo-fi, “black metal” album earlier today under the moniker of his alter ego, Larry Legion, earlier today. Check it out:
Maybe someday you'll be able to pick up a physical copy of that one — as well as Markham's upcoming sophomore LP at the soon-to-come Oak Cliff record store, Spinster. This fall, David Grover, former member of Los Angeles band Loud Sugar, plans on opening shop at 829 West Davis Street, near the Bishop Arts neighborhood.
Elsewhere: Blackstone Rangers has entered the studio to record a follow-up to this spring's Descender; John Congleton talked recording songs for Barney & Friends with Baeble Music; and Sarah Jaffe talked about her favorite Dallas spots with Culture Collide.
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